Bunge to buy West Memphis Grain Elevator

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The sale is set to close by the end of 2011, but Bunge will begin operating the facility immediately under an agreement with Stuttgart, Ark.-based Riceland and the West Memphis Crittenden County Port Authority.

Financial terms were not disclosed. The facility’s seven employees will transfer to Bunge, according to a company statement. All open contracts with Riceland customers will be assigned to Bunge as well.

“Bunge will continue our strong relationship with Riceland with a through-put agreement for the West Memphis facility,” said Doug McNeely, Bunge Grain’s Center Gulf Region manager, in a statement. “With an elevator located across the river in Memphis, we already have a good relationship with growers in the region. We hope to build on that success with our commitment to customer service.”

The elevator is located in the Crittenden County Port and has a storage capacity of 625,000 bushels. It can handle corn, soybeans, wheat, milo and rice.